Sudanese minister sues radical preacher for accusing her of apostasy

October 5, 2019 (KHARTOUM) - Sudan’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Walaa al-Boushi, on Saturday filed an official complaint against a radical Islamist hate preacher who accused her of apostasy.

Abdal Hai Youssef an Islamist preacher known for his support to the former regime, last Friday, slammed the launch of women football league saying it aimed to distract Sudanese from the crises.

He further said that Islam prohibits women football and accused the minister of youth and sports of blasphemy.

On Saturday, al-Boushi’s office issued a short statement announcing that "the minister filed an official complaint against the Youssef and that the Sudanese prosecutor summoned him for interrogation".

Several activists were angered by statements and called to incriminate accusations of apostasy by the radical preacher who is known for spreading hate speech and criticizing the revolution.

They further called to ban the controversial Muslim cleric from preaching as he turned his mosque into a base for radical Islamism and inflammatory sermons against the revolution and its transitional government.

A Sudanese Republican Party writer- Nur Hamad, strongly criticized Youssef and challenged him to say that Saudi Crown Prince is an apostate referring to a recent decision in Saudi Arabia announced last Friday to organize a women football league.

The preacher who is a leading member to the radical Salafist movement in Sudan claimed that the minister was affiliated to the Republican Party, a liberal Islamic group that call to reform the Islamic precepts. Its leader Mahmoud Mohamed Taha was executed by former President Jaafar Nimeiri who was backed during his last days by the Sudanese groups.